Zimmerman brother: Racial focus 'disservice'

George Zimmerman’s brother, Robert, weighed in on President Obama’s surprise remarks Friday on the acquittal of Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case, saying he was “glad [the president] spoke today.”

“I think the American people wanted to hear from the president,” Zimmerman said in a phone interview on Fox News. “I think the president took his time with his remarks and I think it was about time they heard from him. I know a lot of people were expecting sooner or later to hear from the president and I’m glad he spoke out today.”

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Zimmerman said he thought Obama’s remarks about soul searching should be extended beyond African American youth.

“No, we haven’t had any contact from the president or the administration that I know of, but I think that moving anything along racial lines is just a disservice to our country,” he said. “My concern is that along racial lines we don’t misunderstand any other scenario in the future, that we do anything we can to help children who are having difficulty — I do see eye to eye with the president on that — difficulty with life.”

Zimmerman said he agreed with Obama when the president said there is a need for a game plan to help America’s youth.

“No matter what your opinion of the verdict is, there have to be things that bring us together, there have to be teachable moments that we learn from what happened here,” he said. “More importantly, we have some kind of a game plan going forward for what’s going to help youth, in particular is what struck me about the president’s speech.”